Joan Beckwith, PhD Archive

My old friend is scared about the aged care cuts. She lives in a facility where rumour runs rife about being dumped on the street or stranded in bed without incontinence pads. It would be easy to buy into divisiveness …

In bullying situations, blaming the victim and siding with the bully are default options, even though bullies are not popular. Changing these patterns means working against the status quo, but wouldn't everybody be better off?...Joan Beckwith.

New, far-right, anti-Islam political party “AUSTRALIAN LIBERTY ALLIANCE” officially launches on 20 October, 2015. Current Abbott-government politics create an environment in which such a party can flourish, and its international connections may also give it more ballast than previous far-right …

Guest post…My name is Cheryl McDonnell and I have been living with disabilities for 27 years – my own and those of my daughter. We were in an accident when my daughter was 6 months old. Our first encounter with …

By adding $0.25 to their supermarket bill, the people of Woodstock (Ontario, Canada) raise $75,000 to $90,000 per year, which is then transferred to cards that are distributed to local folk in need. The cards can be used to buy …

Thirteen-year-old Imogen Senior was not bogged down by entrenched views when she wrote about Australia’s offshore detention centres. Her clear eyes saw children younger than herself in awful circumstances who want to kill themselves while she “enjoys normal Tuesdays”. This …

What sort of journey has feminism been on over the last five decades? No doubt volumes could be written on this topic, and I'm not silly enough to attempt an answer in a few hundred words of blogpost. All I …

International Women’s Day celebrates those who identify as (and with) women. It is also a day for thinking about the achievements of women, as well as the things that hold them back – including, importantly, violence. Violence against women occurs …

“Oh, East is East, and West is West, and never the twain shall meet.” Rudyard Kipling’s verse, from 1889, makes a mockery of pride in 'progress'. The 'twain' takes many forms in contemporary Australia, and none more destructive than the …